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Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Booking By Numbers

Want to have a nosy at my bookshelves? :-)

Jess from Jess Hearts Books recently posted a fun Q&A and invited other bloggers to take part as well. I noticed a great response from Kat on The Aussie Zombie, and thought it would be fun to have a go too!

Here are Jess' instructions:

Put the number of books on your bookshelf (or if like me you have hundreds of books break it down to 50, 70, 100 - however many books you’d like to play with) into a random number generator this could be via Random Org or simply by pulling numbers out of a hat. For each question draw a number and apply that question to the selected book from your shelf (or wherever you like to store your books.) For example if you pulled the number 11 you’d count across your shelf to the 11th book. It’s as simple as that!

Okay, on to the questions:

My books (and nick-nacks). I decided to limit it to 500 for this survey.

I have read this! I loved it. This is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series; the book is split into two parts, and this is the second half. A lot of very unexpected and shocking things happen in this one (including the Red Wedding, I think, if I've got my books right), and the scale of the whole thing just seems to get bigger and bigger. I also think this is the high point of the series before it started to drag just a little, for me. Though, having said that, I am still really enjoying later books too.

Q2) Why did you buy this book? Were you recommended it? Was it a random purchase?

Hmmm, tricky one. It's science fiction with horror elements, a bit weird, with a really different and interesting way of telling its story. I'd recommend it to people who already enjoy science fiction and like the idea of mixing up a few different genre feels in one story - a bit cyberpunky here, a bit space opera-y there, a bit military SF style there, etc. One thing to bear in mind, it tends to be sold as if it's a stand-alone, but it isn't really! I was really cross with the ending until I realised there was actually another book. It's definitely not complete without the second book (The Fall of Hyperion), so make sure you look out for that if you do want to read this.

Dracula's neighbours are The Night Watch, by Surgei Lukyanenko, and The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. I imagine The Night Watch is either unfazed by Dracula's presence, or desperately trying to get his autograph. The Time Traveller's Wife is probably giving him the side eye and hanging up the garlic, though I'm sure if it came to it, Clare wouldn't go down without a fight.

I've read three books by Robert Harris: Imperium, its sequel Lustrum, and a stand-alone novel, Pompeii. These are all his books set in an ancient Roman setting - I LOVE ancient Greeks and Romans! I really enjoyed Imperium and Lustrum, and I think he's done a good job of catching the feel of the time and bringing history to life. Pompeii was fun, but not as good. It's more of an escape-from-the-disaster plot, whereas the other two are much deeper, with more memorable characters.

This is really weird because Jess' seventh book happened to be a J. K. Rowling too, but under the name of Robert Galbraith! Yep, this is the final book in the Harry Potter series and I'm definitely up to date. I was up to date within a few days of each book coming out! :-)

Q8) Is this book something you’d typically read or is it out of your comfort zone?

I really like this. It's a bit creepy, but also colourful and suggests a children's book. It hints at things in the book, and the fact that the atmosphere will be a bit darker in this one than the first one. I also like how simple this is - it's not an overcrowded image, but it is effective.

Q14) In a few sentences, describe this book in your own words.

Book No. 408 - The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
A boy called Nobody is raised by the dead. But the man who killed his family is still very much alive, and still out there...

About Me

Hi, I'm Victoria, a writer and editor living in Nottingham. I love writing stories, reading books, playing games, watching films and TV, and talking endlessly about them afterwards. I particularly love anything sci-fi or fantasy, magic and the paranormal, history, so-bad-they're-goods, and everything MagicScience.
Welcome to Vicky Thinks, my place to ramble, review and talk about stories!